The God Emperor Protects

A Deathwatch Module

Module part 1!

A Recap of the first portion of the module:

The Kill Team was approached by Rogue Trader Lan Diaz, on behalf of the Lord Militant of the Achilus Crusade, to do something slightly off their normal mission statement: go to the planet Aurum on a diplomatic mission, and bring them back under the influence of the Empire.

The people of Aurum are proud, strong, and towering over most men, yet primitive, refusing to deal with any who cannot pass their rights of passage and be considered Men by their traditions and laws. The Rogue Trader made the most progress in peaceful negotiations with the Caele, the leader of the planet, but had failed to pass their tests of manhood. In seeing their reactions, the Inquisition has authorized sending a Kill Team to negotiate with the natives; if they want Men, we will send the best example of Humanity that the Emperor has to offer!

Upon arrival to the capitol city of Haistand the Kill Team sees some of the natives harassing a member of the Ecclesiarchy, a kindly older priest trying to preach from the Imperial Creed. Normally the populace was uncaring and would ignore the sermons of the old crusader, but this day three large Aurans have surrounded the man and began taunting him and attempting to take his Creed from him, saying things like, “Why does a real god need his stories saved in your see-speak?” After observing the situation, the Battle-Brothers approached they began reciting a quote from the Codex Astartes in unison, brandishing their weapons and displaying the full glory of their Power Armor.

“They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines so that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and THEYSHALLKNOW NO FEAR!!”

As the Battle Brothers finished the litany, they had also finished encircling the harassers. The old priest triumphantly declared to the populace now, “HERE are your heroes! Champions of the God Emperor, his Holy Warriors come to save you all!” Needless to say, the harassers ran away quickly.

Initial investigations indicated this planet was indeed once part of the Empire but had since lost its way and the Light of the Emperor, now believing their God to be the Soul of Aurum…a monolithic man who had twenty sons, ten of which had betrayed him…

The Kill Team approached the Caele to try to open negotiations, but were immediately shut down; they must be Men, and while they may be legendary warriors elsewhere, the Battle-Brothers are unknown to the Auran people. So they must shed their power armor and bolters, and undertake the great Divested Hunt of the most fearsome beast on the planet; the Diabolodon, a tyrannasaurus-like creature with talons and teeth like swords.

The Divested Hunt reminded most of the Battle-Brothers of the trials they had to endure before being raised from the lowly existence of their Chapter Worlds to the exalted state of Space Marines, so they joyfully undertook the hunt and even while armed only with primitive weapons made of bone and wood, they quickly accomplished the Hunt and brought back the head of the Diabolodon as a grim trophy of accomplishment.

Upon the return of the Kill Team to Haistand, the Caele planned a feast in the honor of the newest heroes of Aurum and pulled them aside to speak with them privately; no Imperial Forces had previously been allowed outside of the city of Haistand, but only out of stubborn pride. There was a problem in a nearby settlement of Grensvale, one the Aurans had only been able to contain but not eradicate. They called the Malisectors, but when shown evidence of what they were the Kill Team instantly knew what they were…Tyranids.

Amazingly, the Aurans were so stout a people they had contained a Tyranid infestation in a single city for ten years with a constantly burning trench of promethium.